Carole Fox on wed 12 nov 03
I have a North Star slab roller. The cheapie model that was around $700. And
I do NOT like it. It is hard to turn the wagon wheel smoothly and the result
can be seen on the rolled slab as slight indentations from the roller. Also,
if I don't start the canvas through the roller, the canvas will inevitably
get stuck and it's a pain.
Or maybe it is an excellent value and I'm just doing something wrong?
Carole Fox- Elkton, MD- who agrees that potting has much in common with
baking. I used to own a small Natural Foods Bakery in my previous life
(before potting). But being a potter, you don't have to worry about
perishability and so I find I can be a lot more flexible with my hours. That
is REALLY a perk, especially if you have kids. Of course, that's not to say
potting is stress free...
thesilverfox@dol.net
Cindi Anderson on wed 12 nov 03
I can't imagine it's something you're doing "wrong" because I make no
attempt to do it "right" and if anyone was going to have something like this
happen it would be me because I am very weak and my technique is more
start/stop than most. Yet I have never had mine do what you are saying. I
have used about 30 different clay bodies so that's not it either. If I were
you, I would call Northstar. Maybe something is wrong with the gear or
maybe your handle isn't connected right. Their number is 800-231-7896
Cindi
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carole Fox"
> I have a North Star slab roller. The cheapie model that was around $700.
And
> I do NOT like it. It is hard to turn the wagon wheel smoothly and the
result
> can be seen on the rolled slab as slight indentations from the roller.
wayneinkeywest on wed 12 nov 03
Carole:
Before you dismiss the roller as frustrating, please go down to your nearest
auto parts store and buy one of those "steering wheel spinners" for cars,
and mount that on the wagon wheel. We were having the same problem in the
class I took, and that spinner solved all those "indents" you mention.
Running over the clay a second time whirling the wheel with the spinner
"ironed out" the clay.
Hope that helps,
Wayne Seidl
> I have a North Star slab roller. The cheapie model that was around $700.
And
> I do NOT like it. It is hard to turn the wagon wheel smoothly and the
result
> can be seen on the rolled slab as slight indentations from the roller.
Also,
> if I don't start the canvas through the roller, the canvas will inevitably
> get stuck and it's a pain.
>
> Or maybe it is an excellent value and I'm just doing something wrong?
>
>
> Carole Fox- Elkton, MD- who agrees that potting has much in common with
> baking. I used to own a small Natural Foods Bakery in my previous life
> (before potting). But being a potter, you don't have to worry about
> perishability and so I find I can be a lot more flexible with my hours.
That
> is REALLY a perk, especially if you have kids. Of course, that's not to
say
> potting is stress free...
>
> thesilverfox@dol.net
>
>
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Leslie Laurent on thu 13 nov 03
Hi Carole,
I believe I have the same Northstar slab roller
you're talking about - the 24" model, right?
Last year I made about 2,000 4" tiles with it.
For those who aren't familiar with the slab roller,
the distance between the rollers is adjustable.
The thicker the clay chunk that you are trying
to fit between the rollers is, the harder it will
be to turn the wheel and it will make
those marks when you stop turning. I used
Frank Georgini's slab slicer to get the slabs
pretty close to the thickness I wanted before I
put them through the slab roller. That way I
didn't have to adjust the distance betweeen the
rollers. Otherwise, I had to put the clay through
multiple times decreasing the distance between
the rollers each time. That's ok too, but it was
ever so much faster to get them close to the
final thickness before I put them through the
slab roller.
I have seen other potters throw the slabs out on
the floor to get them fairly thin before putting
them through the slab roller. And I've seen one
just put the whole bag through and then smooth
the marks out with a window washing squeegee!
That works too.
As far as the wheel being difficult to turn, I
haven't had that problem. Maybe Northstar has
some suggestions. I sent them an email question
once and got a pretty quick response.
oh yes - having the canvas get stuck is a pain.
A Slab Mat is one of the best things I ever
bought. Now I don't have to dig around between
the rollers for that blasted canvas.
Leslie
Grass Valley, CA
-----------------------------
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 08:24:12 -0500
From: Carole Fox
Subject: Re: Slab rollers/ baking
I have a North Star slab roller. The cheapie model that was around $700. And
I do NOT like it. It is hard to turn the wagon wheel smoothly and the result
can be seen on the rolled slab as slight indentations from the roller. Also,
if I don't start the canvas through the roller, the canvas will inevitably
get stuck and it's a pain.
Or maybe it is an excellent value and I'm just doing something wrong?
...stuff deleted ......
thesilverfox@dol.net
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